Catch up on all the latest political news from across Kent with Bartholomew Hall.
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00:00Hello and welcome to the Kent Politics Show live on KMTV.
00:29I'm Bartholomew Hall.
00:30It's been an interesting week for KCC's new Doge team, with a week starting with five members
00:36of Reform UK's new cost-cutting team standing on the steps of County Hall for photo ops,
00:41ending with two weeks of two of the members walking out the door.
00:45Elsewhere, a petition launched to save a much-missed ferry service in Gravesend, and we reveal the
00:50true cost of Kent's Police and Crime Commissioner elections.
00:54All this and plenty more to come on the Kent Politics Show today.
00:57But first, a look into Reform's turbulent week at KCC.
01:02Reform UK's takeover of Kent County Council promised some bold changes, but this week's
01:08chaos has left voters with more questions than answers.
01:11On Monday, Reform Chairman Zia Youssef launched the Doge team at County Hall, inspired by Elon
01:17Musk's US model, now rocked by Musk's public fallout by Donald Trump.
01:21Joined by tech entrepreneur Nathaniel Threed, financer Aaron Banks and council leader Lyndon
01:27Kamkaren, they demanded full access to KCC's £2.5 billion budget, threatening gross misconduct
01:35for any obstruction.
01:36We have to ensure that taxpayers' money is being spent wisely, efficiently and in a non-wasteful
01:42manner.
01:42That's the mandate the voters gave us.
01:43That's why Reform won such a walloping majority here.
01:47It's why Reform took control of 10 councils and actually won 42% of the seats.
01:52But by Thursday, the wheels seemingly came off.
01:55Reports surfaced that Youssef had been sidelined with Reform before that evening he quit, posting
02:00on X,
02:01I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time.
02:07Nathaniel Threed followed, citing doubts about Doge's future without Youssef.
02:11Frankly, I'm sad that he's going. I'm sad for the party because he leaves a gap.
02:19I think public life has lost somebody very talented and somebody who's come from within
02:25the ethnic minorities that is intensely patriotic about this country. That's a loss.
02:30Reform insists it's business as usual.
02:32This is my first post on my newly established X account. And I must admit, I wasn't expecting
02:37to have to make it about the resignation of our party chairman, Zia Youssef. I'd just
02:41like to say thank you, Zia, for everything you've done for Reform and best of luck in
02:45the future.
02:46But with a third of KCC meetings cancelled and critics calling it a clown show, Reform's
02:52cost-cutting crusade is off to a rocky start, leaving voters to question, is Doge doomed before
02:58it's begun?
02:59I'll follow you all for KMTV.
03:00Well, to get more analysis on this, I spoke with local democracy reporter Dan Esson earlier.
03:09Hi, Dan. Thanks for joining us. So for a party priding itself on efficiency, this week's been
03:14a bit of a waste of time for reform, hasn't it?
03:17Yeah, I mean, by any measure, it's not been particularly successful. So they started the
03:20week bringing in their Doge team to Kent County Council, saying that they had this crack team
03:25that would come and find efficiencies and save the taxpayers to Kent loads of money. And
03:29now, by the end of the week, Zia Yusuf, chairman of the party, who's sort of spearheading the
03:33Doge efforts, all the local authorities they control, has resigned from that post. And
03:37Nathaniel Freed, who was brought in, who's a tech entrepreneur, who was brought in, apparently
03:40by Zia Yusuf to assist in this endeavour, he's gone as well. So yeah, they've not, it's
03:46a week where they could have been finding efficiencies, which they seem to have spent fighting
03:50amongst themselves.
03:51Well, we did see them identify this £2.8 million of wasted money, but it turns out that information
03:57isn't actually as new as they were suggesting.
04:00No, not at all. That was, I believe that was from a report of the County Council last year,
04:04which my colleague Simon Finley reported back then. So this is old news, essentially.
04:08But it's good to see that they're reading the pages of Kent online, of course.
04:12And can we draw any parallels to what's happening here with Reform UK and the issues that are
04:17happening over in America with Elon Musk, who of course inspired the Doge group that we've
04:24got here at KCC, obviously falling out with US President Trump?
04:29Yeah, I mean, there's clearly, they occupy similar positions on the political spectrum in that
04:34they're sort of right-wing challengers to established parties of the centre-right and centre-left.
04:39You know, even the name Doge is clearly taken from, you know, Elon Musk's endeavour.
04:43I think the main thing it shows, though, is that both of these sort of, both the MAGA movement
04:47in America and reform in the UK, as attempts to be right-wing challengers to the existing
04:52parties of the centre, they depend on, you know, their support base is a broad coalition of parts
04:58of the lower middle class and the working class, who are very disaffected, especially by issues
05:02around immigration. But at the level of leadership, they clearly depend on quite an unstable
05:07coalition of basically very large personalities from the worlds of right-wing politics and
05:13the high levels of sort of tech entrepreneurialism. And those are worlds which, you know, much
05:18like politics and high levels of business in general, attract large personalities who don't
05:23share the limelight particularly readily. So this kind of infighting, I think, is probably
05:28to be expected in any political movement seeking to destabilise an existing establishment.
05:34The question is whether or not it will actually affect their popularity, which, unless this
05:38is the start of a broader crisis, I don't think it will.
05:41Well, moving on, double red lines in Raynham are costing local businesses thousands of pounds
05:47every month. That's according to Stephen Goddard, who runs three shops on the town's main route.
05:52He says the businesses can no longer rely on passing trade. Well, Medway Council painted the
05:57lines a year ago and claims the scheme has been a huge success. Tonight, Gabriel Morris can
06:02exclusively reveal how many drivers have been fined for stopping on them.
06:07Double red lines drive around Medway. You've probably spotted them. We've obtained exclusive
06:13figures showing how many drivers enforcement cameras have caught.
06:18De Broeck in Chatham recorded the highest number of offences, with 655 penalty charge
06:24notices issued in January. That number dropped to 134 by March. On Raynham High Street, the
06:32figures have fluctuated. To give you a taste, 52 fines of December, 25 in January and 46 in
06:40February. One ice cream shop on the red route says the scheme has driven customers away over
06:47the last year. It's been very tough. I mean, we've had a reduction in footfall and revenue
06:52of around 30 per cent. It's been very, very difficult. Obviously, we've tried to reach out to the council
07:00to get some sort of concession regarding the bay immediately outside our shop, but there's
07:05no concession being offered. And one of his customers says Raynham's lost its appeal, thanks
07:11to fines on the red line. Would this put you off coming back here again? Well, of course
07:16it will. £75 for an ice cream. I think that's a little bit expensive, don't you?
07:21We took the business concerns straight to the councillor responsible for the red routes.
07:26There are actually more legal places to stop in Raynham and in the other four locations
07:32than there were previously. So I would say keep talking to us. If they have genuine concerns,
07:37we are always listening. And for those who do get fined, how does Medway Council spend that
07:43money? So if selfish drivers insist on being issued with PCNs and ignoring the rules, I'm
07:50not going to refuse the money that they are putting into the kitty to improve Medway's roads.
07:55Now, this time last year, Medway Council went about repainting some of these double yellow
08:00lines red. But what's the difference between those? Well, the idea of red routes is to free
08:07up traffic on some of the main routes around the town. It means on double red lines, you cannot
08:15stop at any time. Unlike double yellow lines, where drivers can briefly stop to pick up passengers.
08:23A year since they've appeared in Raynham, what do shoppers think now?
08:27Do you think they're a good idea? Yes. Have you ever seen anyone stopping on a double red here?
08:33No, I haven't. But I know of somebody who did, and they got fined.
08:36In places like this, as you just see, probably an ambulance went through earlier. Yeah, probably
08:41a reasonable idea.
08:44Oh, yeah, definitely. Especially around here. Because otherwise, it just gets clogged up.
08:48Medway Council told us they currently have no plans to expand the red route scheme.
08:53They also said the decision doesn't reflect the performance or response
08:57to the five current locations. Gabriel Morris for KNTV, in Medway.
09:03Well, over to Gravesend now, where businesses say the loss of the Tilbury ferry has resulted
09:07in a loss of revenue. They're calling for the service to be reinstated.
09:12The River Thames, a five-minute crossing by boat. But since the ferry linking Gravesend
09:17and Tilbury stopped running last year, those hoping to quickly hop between Kent and Essex
09:23and now faced with a 50-minute drive. The closure came about after Kent County Council
09:28and Thurrock Council pooled their joint funding, leaving the operator Jetstream Tours with no
09:34choice but to axe the service. It's meant businesses such as the Three Doors pub have been left
09:40without many of their regular customers.
09:42We got to know people so well from the other side, but all of a sudden, that's stopped.
09:48There's no way we will see them.
09:50It's a loss of revenue, of course. You have to sort of adjust generally. The climate's
09:56always changing, but that was a loss which should never have happened.
10:02Leicester is just one of hundreds in support of a petition to bring back the Tilbury ferry,
10:07all set up by Gravesend's MP.
10:09This is really about how we can keep this on the agenda and really call on all the various
10:15businesses around the Thames Estuary, across the water. How can we all work together with
10:21councils to really reinstate this Tilbury-Gravesend ferry?
10:26Further into the town, other traders say the problems are spreading there too.
10:30We've lost all that trade that came from that and we're not the only ones. A few of the
10:36businesses from the High Street have actually closed because they just couldn't sustain it
10:40because there was nobody walking up and down the High Street anymore. We do have some that
10:44have still continued to come, but they're telling me they've got four buses to get here. So
10:49there's a few and five between and yeah, we definitely need it back.
10:53For decades, the Tilbury ferry took people to and from Gravesend from that pier over there. An
10:59easy way to cross the Thames. Not all hope is lost though because just a few miles down the river
11:04that way and the new Lower Thames Crossing is set to be built. Although it will take a few years before
11:09anybody in this town sees the benefits. We reached out to both Kent and Thurrock Council about the
11:15future of the ferry service and were told without joint funding from Thurrock Council, KCC is currently
11:21unable to support the service independently, but it's committed to working with a range of partners to
11:27explore a long-term solution. Meanwhile, Thurrock Council told us it's also committed to working with
11:32partners to seek a long-term sustainable funding model. So with the issue of funding still lost in deep
11:39waters, it seems the Tilbury Ferry's future remains uncertain and these gates closed.
11:45Bartholomew Hall for KMTV in Gravesend.
11:49Time for a short break now. We'll have plenty more after this.
11:51Time for a short break.
11:55Time for a short break.
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16:07experience as a school teacher that many uh families do struggle with uh their family finances
16:14and sometimes that does manifest in schools where kids are struggling to eat properly uh during the
16:19day and of course that is a major distraction and it stops kids from achieving uh their potential
16:24so this is not only important for the children to maximize their you know outcomes at school but also
16:30it gives certainty to parents that they don't need to worry that additional cost on their
16:35cost of living every single month now queues for food banks here in medway can be particularly
16:40long with many relying on the vital service so how much could a free school meal help local families
16:46well since 2018 children were only eligible for free school meals if their household's income was
16:52less than the 7400 pounds a year limit but with this removed the government say it will lift 500,000
16:59children across england completely out of food poverty and save struggling parents 500 pounds
17:05every year the government have also released statistics saying that more than 5,000 children
17:09in gillingham and raynham will receive the free meals by 2026 so how much did gillingham need this new
17:15scheme i think a lot of areas at the moment are struggling i think the economic crisis everywhere
17:19is getting worse and worse i think it's good that the government have effectively pulled their finger
17:23out and ensured that a lot of families that you know are really struggling are still going to
17:28make ends meet to a degree i think it's good news i think um you know child poverty is only going up in
17:33the country and after years and years of destitution left by the tories it's quite good to see a
17:40labour government enacting a policy you'd expect from them totally agree with it obviously we don't
17:44get universal credit obviously only selected families do but i think it would ease food poverty if they
17:50did yes while it's certainly welcomed some locals were also telling me that those not on universal
17:55credit can still struggle to put food on the table and with food banks struggling to keep up with rising
18:00demand food poverty will remain a big issue in medway i think there's always been a lot of issues
18:05kobe i think was a big change for people that a lot of people start to struggle um the food bank
18:10the numbers went up crazy at one stage but they're not really letting up still a lot of people still
18:14using the food banks we're lucky in med where there's a lot of good services out there that help
18:18people with food poverty so it's good but the numbers are not letting up i think the only thing
18:22is letting up a bit is the donations donations are not as good as they used to be
18:26so the companies out there the other charities out there are struggling to get stuff to donate to
18:30people an extra meal for those who need it most seems to be a welcome change but many say that
18:35more needs to be done especially on a local level to ensure everyone can afford to feed their families
18:41finn mcdermott for kmtv in gyllingham well finn joins us in the studio now finn what's been the
18:48political reaction to this policy announcement well mps all across kent have been reacting to it uh
18:53polly billington the mp for thanet says she was pleased that more than 6 000 children in her
18:57constituency would benefit from the change but it's not all positive for instance the institute
19:02for fiscal studies says they believe that a more efficient way of feeding children in schools would
19:07actually be to simply scrap the two-child benefit cap but obviously as a political move this is going to
19:13look very good for labor and uh in terms of the actual numbers it's half a million more children
19:18having access to free school meals which the prime minister said would help families who need it
19:23most well finn thank you very much for bringing us those details now a few weeks ago we brought you
19:30the story of a strewed pensioners four-year fight to get a dropped curb installed outside his home
19:36well just one week after our report aired mhs homes finally carried out the promised work michael
19:43partridge says he's delighted but there's still one huge issue remaining the drain now sits in the
19:49wrong place gabriel morris went back to visit him i'm just happy enough to get that done thanks to the
19:56newspapers the power of the press just weeks ago michael had no choice but to drive illegally onto his
20:04property the law says you can't drive over a curb unless it's been dropped his housing provider promised
20:10to do the work back in 2021 but despite repeated reminders nothing happened michael contacted us
20:17two weeks ago and re-raised the issue with mhs homes we also learned that medway council has flagged a
20:24payment issue now at last the curb has been dropped something michael says he never expected to see
20:32done oh well pleased yeah there's something i've got done at last and taken four years to do it though
20:41you never thought it was going to be done did you no i didn't to be honest after four years
20:47i think you know you know i'm bothered just passed you from one to the other when did you find out that
20:53it was going to be fixed yesterday when they dug it out michael lives with emphysema walking long
21:02distances leaves him short of breath now that he can legally use his driveway life should be a little
21:09easier now there is still one problem with this hard standing the drains at the top and it's on a
21:15slope so anytime it rains the water is going to flow right towards the house just look here's some water
21:23and if we go downwards it's going to flow all the way down and you were a builder before in the
21:31construction yeah once upon a time yeah yeah so what what do you say about that well the thing that
21:38i find so he was a contractor that's that put it in it was one of the managers that put the drain in at
21:45the top and i was thinking what are you doing that drains don't go into the top so i thought oh he must
21:50know what he's doing probably putting the drain up there and the drain at the bottom as well so
21:55just let them get on with it he's lived here for more than 40 years the battle for the drop curb
22:02finally over but he's still asking whether anyone will fix the drainage issue gabriel morris for kentv
22:09in strewd finally from us this evening it costs hundreds of thousands of pounds in elections and
22:16more than eighty thousand pounds in salary a year but how many people know what a police and crime
22:23commissioner actually does here in kent well apparently not many with new data obtained under
22:29the freedom of information act revealing the average cost per vote in last year's local elections
22:36well our local democracy reporter ollie leader has been crunching the numbers what do you think is worth
22:4111 pounds and 62 pence a nice bottle of prosecco perhaps a few boxes of biscuits for the office maybe
22:53how about your vote for the kent police and crime commissioner elections for the role were held around
23:00this time last year and by breaking down how many people actually cast their votes and comparing it
23:10to how much it costs to run the elections in each local authority we can reveal just how expensive voting can be
23:22with a single vote for the commissioner costing a whopping 16 pounds up in dartford pictured right next to me
23:33is matthew scott the kent police and crime commissioner he is an elected representative that keeps kent's
23:41police force accountable he helps manage their budget and sets priorities for the force but how many
23:49people here in maidstone actually know who he is do you know who this guy is right here i don't know if i
23:57said he was a politician here in kent would that ring any bells uh no i've never seen him unfortunately
24:04not has he just escaped someone on the television isn't it that interviews that's all i know
24:11politician politician any idea who he is what he does no i can't remember what his name what his name is
24:18he's the police and crime commissioner do you know what the police and crime commissioner role
24:22does here in kent not a lot clearly not the most recognizable name on the high street but a vote here
24:31was still the cheapest out of all of kent's councils costing the borough council around 3.50 a vote in no
24:41small part because it was one of the very few places in the county to be holding local elections
24:50at the same time uh there are obviously ways in which maybe the the cost of the election could
24:56be reduced i've always argued that elections should be held on the same day wherever possible
25:01i said that they are after the extension of the last term of pccs that the term should be realigned
25:07with the county council elections then the more elections you run on the same day the savings that
25:12you can make it in doing so yes we're in the fourth term of pccs but actually it's still a challenge
25:18to make sure that there is that recognition uh we work really hard on that by doing street stalls by
25:23doing public engagements going out on the beat turnout is a big problem with 10 percent less people
25:31turning up at the polls for the role last year than they did back in 2021 elections are expensive things to
25:40to run um and what we've seen over um many years is a sort of falling uh turnout and and a dis a
25:48disaffection with politics which i think is sort of underlying a a key aspect of of what we need to
25:54try and change in terms of getting voters engaged getting people in um wanting to to elect the right
26:00people to office democracy might be priceless even if elections are expensive but if people can start
26:10to put a name to a face it might help going forward ollie leader in maidstone
26:19well if you want to hear more from matthew scott just head to kent online to listen to the latest
26:24episode of the kent politics podcast where he features as this week's special guest that's
26:29it from us on the kent politics show today you can head to our website kmtv.co.uk and check out
26:34all the other episodes of the show plus all of our special programs with the likes of invicta sport
26:40and kent on climate but stay with us because after the break we'll have a new episode of kent
26:45tonight see you in just a few moments bye
26:59we'll see you in just a few moments